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“This is unbelievable,” I say.
My roaming gaze snags on the bed behind the table, tightening my low abdomen with anticipation.
Damon takes my hand, and for the second time, I’m entranced by the magic of the island. The soft glow from the chandelier dances along the planes of his face as his lips brush across my knuckles.
“Tomorrow evening, I’ll escort you to the award ceremony, where we’ll wine, dine, and celebrate. It’ll be a whirlwind of interviews and smiling so hard our cheeks will hurt.”
I’m certain he can feel my hammering pulse when those feather-soft lips climb the underside of my wrist.
“But tonight, Katelynn… Kate… Miss Harris.” More kisses. The blood pounding through my veins makes me light-headed. “We won’t talk about the future. We won’t talk about uncertainty.”
I swallow thickly, biting the inside of my cheek to keep from confessing everything right here and now.
The broken engagement, the obligations I’ve all but thrown out the window.
“I want to savor you and the time we have left together,” he finishes.
My chest aches with desire to pull him to me and promise that I can be the woman he needs. That we could somehow make this work if I just had some time to sort out my life back home.
But I’m… afraid.
Afraid to shatter this beautiful moment, and worse, that he may prove my mother right and reject me altogether.
So, I lean my cheek into his palm instead and say, “I’d like that.”
Damon smiles, swiping his thumb over the crusty paint beside my eye. His excitement is contagious when he moves for the decanter and an empty glass on the table.
I plop down onto a fluffy blue pillow and cross my legs. “How did you manage to swing this?”
“Brandi is not only sometimes useful but she’s also easily bought.” He eyes me while pouring a hefty drink. “I now owe her a night of babysitting in exchange for helping set this up.”
I nibble my lip to keep from laughing as I reach for the glass he offers. “You do realize you can never lose that woman, right?”
His answering laugh seemingly warms the tent. “Friends like Chuck and Brandi are once in a lifetime. I don’t know what I’d do without them.”
“Well, cheers to never having to know.” I raise my glass to his.
Damon studies me a moment before clinking the tips of our glasses. “I like that.”
I like you, I think before I can stop the thought.
Folding his legs crisscross, he settles into his spot across from me.
Several heartbeats pass before either of us makes a move.
It doesn’t feel real being here with him.
I’m… I don’t want to say it. I don’t want to put my thoughts into words, because I don’t want to believe them.
I’m not ready to believe them.
“I hope this is alright,” he says.
I take a small ceramic plate and pile it with various foods. “I’m just happy it’s not peanut butter and jelly.”
His face lights with humor. “You hate jelly, you love the Braves, and my friends like you more than me.”
“Hard facts.” I smirk before sucking a bit of olive juice off my finger.
